


The Magic in Truth, Honesty, and Openness

by oakest



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Coming Out, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22960714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oakest/pseuds/oakest
Summary: Of course it’s Luke she tells first. Who else could it be?
Relationships: Luke Danes & Rory Gilmore
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	The Magic in Truth, Honesty, and Openness

**Author's Note:**

> My gay heart needed soothing after one too many gay jokes in GG canon, and I love the dynamic between these two, so here’s my shameless catharsis.

"Luke." Rory's got her Serious Face on. Whenever Luke pictures Rory in his head, she's usually laughing at something Lorelei's said, and it makes him tug on his baseball hat uncomfortably to see her fingers steepled on his diner counter like they are. He hesitates.

"Rory," he parrots, praying maybe she's just got a very serious nutrition question he can answer. (A man can dream.)

"There's something I need to tell my mom," Rory says, tilting her head down but maintaining eye contact for Extra Serious Face. Luke goes deer in the headlights.

"Have we really been dating that long that we look alike to you? I thought the scruff set me apart," he loses steam as he goes, uncrossing and recrossing his arms to get the flannel sleeves to sit right on his arms. He swears Rory hasn't blinked since she sat down.

"There's something I need to tell my mom, but I can't. And I've decided to tell you first because I need- I just need to." Rory swallows, serious melting into nervous. Luke takes an unconscious step back, wincing at her. Somehow, nervous is worse. Her eyes get all big and puppy-like and it never ends up happy for Luke.

"Look, I really don't like to get in between things with you and your mother, you know..." Looking into those puppy eyes, the protest sounds pathetic even to Luke. Dammit, he can feel himself leaning back in already. It's too late at night for this. He should've just closed early again.

"Luke, I..." Rory pauses, looking up and blinking. It looks frighteningly like she's blinking away tears, but that's not possible, because she's Rory and he's Luke and there is no way she's crying in front of him. A couple of her deep breaths later and Luke is about to burst with unmitigated fear and anticipation. He has no idea that it's twenty times scarier for Rory when she says, "I'm gay."

"Oh!" Luke exclaims, taking another unintentional step back. He rubs the back of his neck, grabbing the bill of his hat for a second. "Oh." He cannot make eye contact with anything but the floor tiles. "Oh, wow, okay." Rethinking his reaction, he takes a step forward. Then he rethinks the news one more time and sways back. "Uh, uhm... Jess?" He squints at her now, carefully watching her startled jump at the question.

"Yes! I mean, no, yeah, I'm- I'm not a lesbian, I uh, I really loved Jess, yes. Gay is just- it's just a blanket term," Rory reassures him, the ability to talk with her hands returning. Luke's eyebrows nearly fly off of his face.

"You _loved_ Jess?" Rory's mouth opens and closes in response, but then she just gives him a pleading look. "Right, right, really not the point. Gay terms." Luke looks like a bobblehead, trying to compensate for the foot he keeps sticking in his mouth with aggressive nodding. Then he stops, and actually properly looks at her for the first time. Rory's shoulders hunch at the attention.

"Why didn't you tell your mother this first?" His voice is soft and inquisitive. Genuine. Rory could cry. She does, a little.

"Because I knew you'd sound like that," Rory gets this small little grin that Luke doesn't understand, but it doesn't matter. He squints at her again and her grin turns into a sigh. "I just..." Rory's sweater sleeve is suddenly entrancing to her. "I knew there'd be jokes, you know? Because that's how she deals, and besides, she's never exactly waved the rainbow flag."

Luke gives her a look. "She loves you." It's all he needs to say to get his point across, and Rory nods, still messing with her sweater paws.

"I know that. I know she'll do what I need her to. I just- I also needed the first person I told to be... nice. I needed it to be you, Luke." And now those puppy eyes are tear-filled and Luke is walking around the counter. Rory stands instinctively, giggling a little and shaking her head as she wipes away tears. He wraps her in his arms.

Then Luke pulls away, hands heavy on Rory's shoulders. "I love you, kid. Always."

"Thank you, Luke."


End file.
